buying new computer

painfulcost

my current computer is out of date and i am in desprate need to buy a new one. i am thinking of buying a computer that is able to download my camcoder dv and burn dvd from them. I also need them to do photoshop and autocad applications.

does anyone know of any website that could built one for me at a cheap price.
does anyone have good ideas of specifications that i need for my new comp.

any ideas are much appreciate at present because my wife is giving me earache.

Geoggy

i recommend https://www.dell.com, or try dell outlet.

got my pc from there for under 600 quid and its top end.

have a look at https://www.outletbargains.co.uk - its a forum where nice chaps can get you cheap dell pc's.

Xio_2

Specwise, considering you need to run programs like photoshop and cad, I think the most important thing is memory. 512MB as an absolute bare minimum and if you can, get 1GB - it'll make a world of difference.

Processor wise, I prefer AMD for raw power but if you are considering somewhere like Dell, then you will be limited to Intel. Stick to either a Pentium 4 or Athlon 64 for best performance. Dual core may be useful if you are a heavy user, but it really depends on your budget - what sort of money were you looking to spend?

Doonhamer

Check https://www.wizmarkcomputers.co.uk for the best Dell deals. You have trouble finding someone to build you a cheap PC for less than Dell can supply one. If you go for Dell try and select one with all you need as standard rather than adding in extras. This keeps the cost down. And remember to deselect the warranty and go through Quidco.

painfulcost

i got about £700, max £800. which graphic card should i get.. there's so many to choose

sloughflint

painfulcost wrote:

i got about £700, max £800. which graphic card should i get.. there's so many to choose

I take it you are only interested in the tower? No need for speakers, keyboard, monitor?

sloughflint

I went to golden electronics and tried the most expensive graphic card they do and it came to £667.90:
Multimedia PC : M-775Dual - 3.2Ghz, 1GB, 160GB, DVDRW, PCI-E ( this is the basic choice I picked and then I changed a few options to the one below)

Processor: Pentium 4 660 3.6ghz LGA775 800mhz HT 2mb; Memory: 1GB DDR 400mhz - Included in price; Hard Disk Drive: 160GB IDE ATA133 8MB buffer - Included in price; Optional second Hard Disk Drive: None; Optical Drive: 16x Sony Double-Layer DVD+/-RW - Included in price; PCI-Express Graphics card: ATI Radeon X800GTO PCI-E 512MB TV/DVI; Floppy Disk Drive: None; Operating System: Genuine Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 ; Sound Card: Onboard Sound - Included in price; Internet and Networking: Onboard 10/100 network card - Included in price; Monitor: None; Printer: None; Warranty: 3 Years Standard Warranty - Included in price; Case: Eye-T Gladiator (500W PSU) - Included in price = £667.90

wolfman

£700-800, you should be able to pick up something decent for that.

I'd go for a dual core AMD Athlon 64. Try and get around 1gb of Ram too.

I'm no fan of package deals (always self build if possible), but Mesh always get good reviews in PC Pro. Maybe something like:
http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTVIEWPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=74093

I can't say what their customer service is like though.

Tom_Jones

Cheapest by a mile IMHO, and excellent service

https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk

painfulcost

sloughflint wrote:

I went to golden electronics and tried the most expensive graphic card they do and it came to £667.90:
Multimedia PC : M-775Dual - 3.2Ghz, 1GB, 160GB, DVDRW, PCI-E ( this is the basic choice I picked and then I changed a few options to the one below)

Processor: Pentium 4 660 3.6ghz LGA775 800mhz HT 2mb; Memory: 1GB DDR 400mhz - Included in price; Hard Disk Drive: 160GB IDE ATA133 8MB buffer - Included in price; Optional second Hard Disk Drive: None; Optical Drive: 16x Sony Double-Layer DVD+/-RW - Included in price; PCI-Express Graphics card: ATI Radeon X800GTO PCI-E 512MB TV/DVI; Floppy Disk Drive: None; Operating System: Genuine Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 ; Sound Card: Onboard Sound - Included in price; Internet and Networking: Onboard 10/100 network card - Included in price; Monitor: None; Printer: None; Warranty: 3 Years Standard Warranty - Included in price; Case: Eye-T Gladiator (500W PSU) - Included in price = £667.90

i need a LCD/TFt monitors as well.Currently looking at PEntium D 920, MEmory 1GB , HD 160GB S-ATA. Other specs potentially needed 256 or 512MB graphic card, will need OS microsoft XP, PSU 500w ? dual rail, firewire port, warranty 1 year.

tried dell web site but came out more expensive than pcspecialist.

for my dvd burning needsfor my camcoder do i need microsoft XP or multimedia ?

movieman

for my dvd burning needsfor my camcoder do i need microsoft XP or multimedia ?

You need DVD-authoring software to convert from DV files to DVD format files. I don't know of any free DVD software, but there seem to be some cheap ones around.